Ginkgo Biloba trees are thought to be the oldest species of tree living, with fossil records dating back more than 200 million years. Surviving ice ages, and incalculable environmental pressures ginkgo tree leaves have evolved to contain a complex mixture of compounds discovered by the ancient chinese in 2800 BC to be useful for treating memory loss. Today, GBE has been the subject of over 300 published studies and reports and is the most frequently prescribed herbal medicine worldwide. GBE is believed to be useful for treating both central nervous system and peripheral circulatory deficiency, useful as an antioxidant in the brain, retina and cardiovascular system, useful for treatment of cerebrovascular insufficiency and other circulatory conditions, and also useful as a PAF inhibitor.
Much attention has been devoted to improving and developing extraction techniques for collecting pure GBE. Schwabe, U.S. Pat. No. 5,512,286 describes an extraction technique suitable for collecting GBE free of serum-precipitating properties. Schwabe, U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,348 describes an extraction procedure which collects GBE free of alkylphenols without the use of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons. O'Reilly, etal. U.S. Pat. No. 5,389,370 discloses an extraction technique which results in a higher active component extract. Ayroles, etal, U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,688 discloses a process for obtaining GBE using organic solvent and removing the proanthocyanidins by precipitation. And Matsumoto, etal, U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,929 describes a procedure for obtaining substantially pure flavone glycosides. Some of these patent holders have also described pharmaceuticals and therapeutic compositions utilizing GBE in addition to Chatterjee, etal, U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,883 and Liu, U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,949 and others. This prior art coupled with the numerous published articles addressing GBE therapeutic qualities exemplifies the need to increase the efficiency and availability of the prized GBE. The inventor has recognized the need for increasing the bioavailability and efficiency of ingested GBE so that a higher percent of the GBE ingested will actually be utilized instead of being eliminated. Majeed, etal., U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,506 discloses the use of piperine to increase the bioactivity of nutritional compounds, such as GBE. In contrast to the present invention the Majeed invention utilizes a relatively rare extract, piperine whose drug bioavalability enhancement mechanism is unknown, while the present invention utilizes readily available edible polyols as an additive to increase gastrointestinal absorption of ingested GBE. The GBE polyol composition may be ingested either alone or in combination with other additives, as a concentrate, diluted, encapsulated, elixir formula, or as a food and beverage additive.